


(out of) the woods

by nonbinarywithaknife (littleboxes)



Series: me sobbing about critical role [16]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Centaurs, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Fluff without Plot, Friendship, Gen, and becoming the friendly local hermit, and him eventually just deciding to stay, centaur!nott, i just really love the idea of nott as a forest creature luring yeza into the woods, who makes potions sometimes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-13
Updated: 2019-02-13
Packaged: 2019-10-27 08:44:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17763569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littleboxes/pseuds/nonbinarywithaknife
Summary: Veth escorts an alchemist out of the woods, and makes a friend





	(out of) the woods

**Author's Note:**

> based on this prompt from anon on tumblr: What would it take for you to write a fic for mermaid veth, or maybe centaur veth?  
> edited 2/26/19

Veth’s ears flicker as she hears a noise. She pauses, the basket of berries in her hands only half-way full. After a few seconds, the noise comes again. Now that she’s listening, she realizes it’s not an animal, or the wind- it’s a person. Her tail swishes, and she starts trotting in the direction it’s coming from. It’s been… awhile since she’s talked with someone outside her herd.

It doesn’t take long before she can see the source- it’s a small man- human- no, wait, they aren’t that small, she doesn’t think. Halfling, maybe? The coat he’s wearing is shredded, and his face is red. He’s panting like mad- no, like he’d been running. He doesn’t appear to be armed, and she can always flee if it comes to violence, and. And she’s curious. So, she trots out from behind the tree, and says, “Hello! Who are you?”

The man jumps, and whirls around to face her. His eyes widen in shock, and he takes a few steps back. She doesn’t take it personally. She doubts many people have seen a centaur before. She steps forward a little bit, and tilts her head. “Well? Most people don’t venture this deep into the woods without some sort of purpose. What’s yours?”

He makes a funny squeaking noise, but doesn’t back up any further which Veth takes as progress. Finally, he speaks. “Well- Um. I’m Yeza? I- I’m an alchemist, and I was just out, y’know, collecting some ingredients, always better to get them fresh, but, um, anyway, I was out collecting and I sort got ambushed by goblins? I got away but I was running for a while and now I’m lost? Could you, um. Show me the way out, please?” His voice is funny, and makes everything he says sound like a question, but Veth likes him anyway.

She glances down at her berries, and decides that if she’s going to take a few solid hours out of her gathering to escort this man- Yeza, from the woods, he may as well help collect her lunch. “Yes, I will show you the way out of the woods, but you have to help me collect some berries on the way,” she says, satisfied at her trade. He blinks at her, before nodding, seemingly to himself.

“Well, that seems fair. So, ah, what kind of fruits am I collecting?” he asks, and she explains as they begin walking in the right direction.

Their trip takes several hours, and by the end of it, Veth is reluctant to let him go. He’s a little awkward, but listening to him talk about alchemy is pleasant, his passion for the subject obvious in the way he speaks. And he asks about her, too. And when she talks about life in her herd, and her collections, he actually listens, unlike her brothers. So, when they reach the outskirts of the forest, she hesitates, just a little. He notices. “Um, Veth. I- uh, I really liked talking to you. And, um, y’know, if you wanted, we could meet up again?” His face is red, and she doesn’t doubt hers is too. She agrees, and they pick a meeting spot roughly between the town and her herd’s area of the forest.

On her way back home, she smiles, thinking of their upcoming meeting. She doesn’t think about Yeza’s glasses, or how they compliment his sky-blue eyes very well. Not at all.

**Author's Note:**

> epilogue:  
> they’re both smitten with each other and end up having a fairytale forest wedding. yeza eventually just moves into the forest full time and becomes a friendly hermit who occasionally wanders back into town to sell healing potions. he loves his horse wife very much


End file.
